Automatic tank ball



June 10, 1952 c, RICKENA 2,599,940

AUTOMATIC TANK BALL Filed March 27, 1951 Patented June 10, 1952 anromhrio TANK- BAL L ClarenceRickena,chillicothe fil. I a tlitauon'mrcii-zt, 1951Serial N6; 217 21 143 wat'er discharge elbow or pipe which connects the-flush tank with the hopper; Said; chain serv ing 1 to" gravitationally 'guide; the :valve' "to its "seat" aft'eneach flushing peration;

A-st'ill furtherobje'ct is to" provide the flush valve with a chainfor "connecting it to theusu'al valve-lifting arm of a: flush tank and to make novel provision for adjustment, to provide the required length-ofchain-between the valve and the? lifting arm; according" to the distance-pf the latter above the flush valve seat-.--

Anotherobject oftheinventionis to provide a novel construction in whichthe lifting chain extends through the flush valve, and in'jwhich' the above mentioned adj ustment is attained by manually sliding-the -valve-alorig---' the chain} until the req'uired' 1 chain length is obtained above' 'the va-lver I Yet another object of the invention 1s-;t o pro vid'e the flush valve with-yieldable means 3whicli normally engages the chain with suflicient tenacity to hold chain and valve against accidental relative sliding during flushing operation, yet will yield when the chain and valve are forcibly pulled in opposite directions by hand to adjust as above described.

Still another object is to provide the above mentioned yieldable means in the form of a plurality of detents integral with an elastic flush valve and normally engaging the chain between links of the latter, said detents providing the necessary normal connection between valve and chain and upon relative adjustment of chain and valve, yielding from their prior position and snapping in between other chain links.

A still further object is to provide a novel construction in which an elastic flush valve is moulded around a chain. In the present disclosure, this accomplishes two results, to wit: (1) the chain and valve are provided with a simple and efiective operative connection; (2) the valve is provided with elastic detents en- 2: v aging between the*- chain ahd": tries? detents Will permifi adjustment dfithvalvifildng the chair'l-if required? V W 1th the" above and other "Obj ects mwiew that will bec'om'e' apparent-as the :natureifofi ma ine veiition is- 'bett'er under-stood; the" sameiiconsistsz: in the novel form} combination and-"ar'range ment or parts; heleiriaftermore fullyf described shown the accompanying? dlafiirlgrfitfifiii claimed; 7

Figure =1 a per'spective viewspai-uy' away" and in section; showingaiflush-tankeande ho'p'per assembly e'quipped" WithIthe 'imprQVBdY" Figure "2 is a: fragmentary-i sectionaltiview showing? thje' -valvebody th' fo'rm ofea'ehollow elastic ballconnected with5the chainzt Figure 3' is a view similar to liigiiredrbuts showing-a solid'elastic ball, and

Figiirej l isfa detailisection' vievg'; erm-"1melevation, showing one: manner f.-prbviding=the2 upper end of the chain with attachin h kt for connecting it;- withthe va'lve lifting airnrto aflush tanki v7 i The conS'trtiEtiori- 'shoiiin inlthe' rdra 'wi'n be ra'tlieispecificallyl described; butch-"91S. a. understood-that'- variations filay;-betrfiaiie?;:withm:' theses-be of the -invention?'as claimed;

A flush f tank i's shown? "at 5 "corinectedivby water discharge pipe or =elbowl 6 'withe'a hoppe 1. As usual, the coupling means 8 wlr'iclr'ccnl, nect's the'pipe or elbow 6: with": theabottcmv: of the tank 5, is provided with a flush valve seat 9. Above this seat is a flush valve lifting'arm l0 operatively connected with a handle H5:

The improved flush valve is in the form of an elastic ball formed from rubber or the like, this ball being denoted at l2 in Figure 2 and at 12 in Figure 3. The ball shown in Figure 1 may be either the ball l2 or l2. Due to its spherical shape, it will tightly engage the seat 9 in any of various positions instead of contacting with said seat on the same peripheral surface upon each closing movement. The wear being thus distributed over a greater area, longer service is insured before replacement is required.

A length of chain I3 is connected with the ball l2 or H and extends upwardly therefrom, the upper end of said chain length l3 being provided with attaching means It for connecting it with the lifting arm to. There is of course some slack in this chain length to prevent it from interferring with tight seating of the ball.

Another length of chain 15 is connected with the ball 12 Or l2 to hang freely in the pipe or elbow 6. This chain length 15 of course ascends with the ball when a flushing operation is started, but said chain length is intended to remain at all times hanging into the pipe or elbow 6. It thus aids in gravitationally guiding the ball to its seat at the end of the flushing operation.

In the construction shown, the two chain lengths l3 and I5 are portions of a single chain, and the ball 12 or 12 is fluid-tightly moulded around the intermediate portion of said chain. This chain is preferably a beaded chain, having spherical beads I6 loosely connected by necks I1. The ball, moulded around the chain, is thus provided with spaced spherical sockets l8 and with integral detents or ribs 19 between said sockets. The sockets l8 snugly receive the beads I 6 and the detents or ribs l9 snugly embrace the necks l1 between said beads.

Due to the above described construction, the ball and chain are so tenaciously connected that there is no danger of accidental slippage of the chain through the ball during flushing operations. However, when the ball is held in one hand and the chain in the other, and said ball and chain are forcibly pulled in opposite directions, they will relatively slide. The ball and chain may thus be relatively adjusted with each to impart the proper length to the upper chain length l3 according to the height of the lifting arm l0 above the seat 9, which height is not uniform in all tanks. During the adjusting operation just explained, the detents or ribs 19 will yield to free the previously held beads 16 and at the termination of the adjusting operation, said detents or ribs will snap in between other beads, again establishing an operative connection between ball and chain. The chain is of course suificiently long to allow maximum upward adjustment of the ball without shortening the lower chain length to such an extent as to cause it to leave the pipe or elbow 6 during any flushing operation.

The ball l2 of Figure 2 is hollow, as customary with common flush valves. The upper part of this ball is provided with an integral boss 29 moulded around the chain and having the sockets l8 and detents l9. In Figure 3, the ball I2 is solid and is moulded throughout its diameter around the chain. This ball l2 therefore possesses a greater number of the sockets l8 and detents l9.

From the foregoing and the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that effective provision has been made for attaining the desired ends, and while preferences have been disclosed, attention is again invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A flush valve comprising a length of chain having means at its upper end for attaching it to the valve lifting arm of a flush tank, and a seat-engaging ball through which said chain extends fluid-tightly, said ball having yieldable means engaging said chain with sufficient tenacity to normally establish an antislipping connection between said ball and chain, yet permitting manual adjustment of the ball along the chain, said chain comprising spaced spherical beads and necks connecting said beads, said ball being formed of elastic material and having spherical sockets snugly receiving said beads, said ball also having integral ribs between said sockets and snugly surrounding said necks, said ribs constituting said yieldable means.

2. A flush valve comprising a length of chain having means at its upper end for attaching it to the valve lifting arm of a flush tank, and an elastic seat-engaging ball moulded around said chain below said attaching means and thus having integral detents engaging the chain between links thereof, said chain comprising spaced spherical links and necks connecting said links, said ball having spherical sockets snugly receiving said beads, said ball also having integral ribs between said sockets and constituting said detents; whereby a normal tenacious connection is provided between said ball and chain, yet said ball may be adjusted along said chain, during which operation said ribs will yield and snap in between other beads of the chain.

CLARENCE RICKENA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,142,820 Knauff June 15, 1915 1,605,938 Haas Nov. 9, 1926 1,767,021 Taylor June 24, 1930 1,958,841 Bateholts May 15,1934 2,230,613 Deady Feb. 4, 1941 2,386,697 Lynch Oct. 9, 1945 

